My second family
by Linneagb
Summary: One- shot about when Bella met the Cullens for the first time, after returning from Phoenix. Edward/Bella


I fingered on the cast around my leg, let my finger run towards the letter, that my very much bellowed me had written there with a black pen. "Love you over all, hugs from Edward." I smiled slightly by the thought of my loved.

There had been almost a week, since the day I came home after staying at the hospital in Phoenix. I still hadn´t met any of the Cullens, mostly because Charlie wouldn´t let any of them either to the hospital room, or into the house. Edward had still been here every night though, but he didn´t want to risk that Charlie would notice me being gon. For some reason, Charlie had begun checking on me, several times a night, to check if I was all right I guessed.

I sighed slightly, of course, as always, it would be lovely to meet my second family again, but I couldn´t help feeling a little nervous. It was nervous mostly to have to face Jasper again, after how I had tricked him at the airport.

I had talked Charlie into letting me go to the Cullens today, he thought I was gonna rest, after all, I would see most of them when I went back to school, but I had nagged him, and when I came with the argument that Carlisle after all, was a doctor, and could check my leg, Charlie had at last given in, at the condition that he would pick me up himself after two hours, no more, no less. And I had to give in for that condition, two hours were better than nothing.

I heard Edward´s knock on the door, I heard it open, I heard Charlie letting Edward in, and then two pair of feet walking up the stairs to my room. Charlie opened.

"Bella… he´s here now." Charlie came walking over to my bed, to lift me up. The cast and the crutches, made it hard for me to walk in the stairs.

"Officer Swan… let me do that" Edward tried.

"No, I´ll do it. You can take the crutches." As Charlie lifted me up, I reached Edward the crutches. He took them, and walked after Charlie down the stairs. When we stood in the kitchen, I finally got a chance to hug Edward. I pressed my face into his shirt, inhaling his, very special smell. We stood like that for a while, and when I let go, Edward picked me up. Charlie held up the door for us, as Edward carried me down the stairs, and to his car. He lifted me onto the front seat, before walking around the car and sitting down on the driver´s seat, and he started driving.

Nothing was said during the ride to the Cullen´s, I was becoming too nervous to start a conservation. Edward lifted his hand when we started getting close, stroke my hair.

"Don´t be afraid now Bella, it will be fine." I nodded, as Edward drove onto the driveway of the Cullen´s manor. I managed to get up on my feet, or foot and crutches more likely, and into the house. But when we came to the stairs Edward picked me up again, upstairs… downstairs. Gosh, why did this house have so many stairs? We came down into the living room, where they all stood. Carlisle and Esme by the piano, Rosalie and Emmett by the wall, and Jasper and Alice almost by the stairs. Oh shit, Jasper and Alice would be the first one I´d have to face.

Edward put me down on the floor, right in front of Jasper and Alice. Jasper had the same tormented facial expression as usual. When Alice took a step forward to give me a hug, I moved both of my crutches to my left hand, so I could embrace Alice with my right. None of us said anything, as I turned towards Jasper and faced him.

"I´m sorry Bella…" he was the first one to speak. I shook my head.

"No… no… I am sorry, it wasn´t your fault! I shouldn´t have done that to you." Jasper shook his head slightly. Edward spoke up.

"Listen Bella… Jazz, what happened was none of our fault, you´re not coming anywhere with blaming yourself about it." I nodded, then reached out my right hand. Jasper took it, and during silence, shook it slightly.

Next up to face were Emmett and Rosalie, I shook Rosalie´s hand, like with Jasper during silence. None of us actually had got anything to say. I turned slowly towards Emmett, but before I had turned fully towards him, he lifted me up, held me in one of his typical bear- hugs. I dropped my crutches, and couldn´t help but groan, when my leg hit his, stone- like leg.

"Emmett… be careful." Edward warned him.

"Sorry Bells." Emmett put me down again, bent down and then reached me the crutches again, gosh how I hated being dependent of others all the time. Hated it! While I held one crutch in each hand, and slowly moved towards Carlisle and Esme, as always, Edward moved next to me, I didn´t wanna be rude, but it was getting kind of annoying.

"It´s all right Edward, you don´t need to follow every step I take!" I said, he nodded, took a step back, and leaned against the wall. I moved slowly towards the piano, where Carlisle and Esme stood. I stopped right ahead of them, didn´t quite know what to say, or what to do.

My second pair of parents, two of the persons that cared about me, and loved me, more than someone else could ever understand. How could I have done that to them? What I did. Scaring them, just don´t care about how afraid they would be and run.

Did I really deserve their caring love?

"Bella? Bella? Are you all right sweetie?" the sound of Esme´s voice, brought me back to reality.

"Yeah… yeah… I was just thinking… I´m… I´m sorry…"

"Oh Bella." Esme pulled me into her motherly embrace… and I dropped my crutches… again. But this time I was almost grateful for it, it was hard hugging somebody with crutches in hands. Now I could embrace Esme back for real.

When I let go, Carlisle had picked up the crutches from the floor, he reached them to me, smiled slightly. Then gave me a hug, him too.

"So, Bella, how´s your leg?" he asked. I nodded.

"It´s…. it´s better." I answered him. Tried to find the balance, and swerved. Carlisle took a step forward and grabbed my shoulder, he looked concerned.

"It´s all right, I just lost my balance that´s all." I insured. He nodded, and put his hand back in his pocket.

"Maybe we should let you sit down Bella." Esme said.

"No… really… I´m fine." I lied, the truth was my hands were starting to hurt a bit from holding me up with the crutches.

In the blink of an eye, Edward was by my side.

"Come on Bella… we´ll go sit down." He helped me to get to the couch and sit down. Edward sat down in the corner of it, so I could lean against him, and before I could blink, Carlisle had gotten a stool, and carefully lifted my leg onto it. I sighed, and shook my head a little.

"Really… you don´t have to." I tried. But Carlisle just chuckled, he knew how much I hated when I was dependent of others.

Way too fast, those two hours had passed by, Edward was as always the one carrying me in the stairs, and helping me into the car. When I and Charlie came home, he carried me into the house, made sure I had everything I could need in the living room, and then he drove off to work. Of course, after I had insured him loads of times that it was all right.

Soon after Charlie had left Edward was in the living room, he sat down next to me in the couch, and for a couple of minutes we just sat there, looking at each other until….

"I love you Edward." I said, and then he gave me the response, the three words I loved more than anything else.

_I love you _

**Well, that didn´t turn out so bad did it? Well, A.N. here, I´m not sure about the proportions in the Cullen- house. Yes, I know there should probably be more words spoken, but these things with conversations… nah, not ,my strongest side, so I thought it would be better if I just left that part.  
English is not my first language, and at last, please review. **


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